Aims of Individuals and Societies
The aims of all MYP subjects state what a teacher may expect to teach and what a student may expect to experience and learn. These aims suggest how the student may be changed by the learning experience.
The aims of MYP individuals and societies are to encourage and enable students to:
  • appreciate human and environmental commonalities and diversity
  • understand the interactions and interdependence of individuals, societies and the environment
  • understand how both environmental and human systems operate and evolve
  • identify and develop concern for the well-being of human communities and the natural environment
  • act as responsible citizens of local and global communities
  • develop inquiry skills that lead towards conceptual understandings of the relationships between individuals, societies and the environments in which they live.


From Individuals and Societies IB subject guide



Individuals and Societies encourages learners to respect and understand the world around them and equips them with a skills base appropriate for a learner in the 21st century. Individuals and Societies involves inquiring into historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural contexts that influence and have an impact on individuals, societies and environments.

(Adapted from Individuals and Societies subject guide)





Year 1, Grade 6: 1st Quarter Unit

Unit Title: Identity and Community
Key Concept: Global Interactions
Related Concepts: Identity, Diversity
Global Context: Identity and relationships


Statement of Inquiry: Self awareness and social awareness influence choices and fosters upstanding


Overview:
In today's global society it is very important for students to understand and engage with cultures of the wider world. When students have a sense of their own identity and develop a strong sense of self, they can better understand and accept others. We will be exploring their identity, how they can be an "upstander" and the cultural identity of others.





GRASPS Grade 6
Year 1


Goal: Your goal is to research a person in history that you consider an up-stander. You must gather information about this person’s background and factors that shaped their identity. You will research and gather information about the person; describing why you think s/he exemplifies an upstander. Your goal is to share your knowledge of this person’s attributes that reflect an upstander; someone who is a risk-taker, principled and caring. You will present the knowledge you gained in your research by completing two tasks: the first is a typed biography that you will have available to read during your second task. The second task is that you will present yourself as the person you researched about.
Role: You will be the classroom expert who reports your findings about the upstander you choose. As the informed point-person, you will share an accurate portrayal of your chosen upstander, describing actions and other important information to show the qualities that have made them an upstander.
Audience: Your audience is a group of your peers, buddies, as well as adults. You need to show the audience what upstanding is through sharing YOUR story with those who visit the living museum. Your audience might ask questions of you so you need to have a clear understanding of the individual you are researching.
Situation: The challenge involves showing your audience what upstanding means through both the written biography and the oral representation of your person (living museum). Your writing should “show” not “tell” why it is important to be an upstander. You will need to be in character for your oral presentation using artifacts that link to the person.
Product, Performance, and Purpose: You will create a complete biography of the upstander that you chose to research. Your biography should follow the guidelines of a biography genre.
Some biography elements to include in Task One, the biography:
-Background information (birthdate and place, family members, childhood and school life)
- inspiration
- interests,
- activities
- anecdotes
- career
- reason for being an upstander
- later life/old age
- death (if dead; if not, what they are doing now)
- photos
- likenesses
For Task Two: When presenting you will be in character and have artifacts representing him/her. Your purpose is to inform what an upstander is by being the person you researched that exemplifies this attribute.
Standards and Criteria for Success: You will investigate a historical or notable figure who qualifies as an upstander. Your investigation and writing will answer the research question, “Why is this person an upstander?” When writing you will formulate and follow an action plan to explain why this person is an upstander. You will use the facts and information you gathered to give your opinion on why this person is an upstander.



  1. ii. formulate and followanactionplantoexplore a research question
iii. use methods to collect andrecordrelevant informationconsistentwith theresearch question

Achievementlevel
Achievement level descriptor
Taskspecificclarifications
0
Thestudentdoesnotreachastandarddescribedbyanyofthe descriptorsbelow.

1–2
Thestudent:
ii. followsanactionplanina limitedwaytoexplorearesearch
question
iii. uses methods to collect andrecordinformation,toalimitedextent
I created and started to follow a chosen action plan, however, I did not complete my plan nor gather material so I followed the action plan in a limited way.
The information collected and recorded in my paragraph has little to do with the topic sentence. The information in my paragraphs is to a limited extent because it has few sentences and lacks information.


3–4
Thestudent:

ii. partiallyfollowsanactionplantoexplorearesearch question
iii. usesamethodormethodstocollectandrecordsome relevantinformation
I created and attempted to follow a chosen action plan and obtained some material so I only partially explored the research question and stayed on topic.

I used some relevant information in my paragraph that uses detailed information that supports the topic sentence.
5–6
Thestudent:
ii. mostlyfollowsanactionplantoexplorearesearchquestion
iii. usesmethod(s)tocollectandrecordoftenrelevant
information
I mostly created and followed the chosen action plan and obtained diverse research from reliable sources.
I often use relevant information in my paragraph that uses detailed information that supports the topic sentence.
7–8
Thestudent:
ii. effectivelyfollowsanactionplantoexplorearesearch question
iii. usesmethodstocollectandrecordconsistentlyrelevant
information
I created and followed the chosen action plan and obtained diverse research from 3-4 sources.

All of the information in my paragraph relates to the topic sentence.

I effectively created and followed the chosen action plan and obtained diverse research from many reliable sources.

I consistently use relevant information in my paragraph that uses detailed information that supports the topic sentence.






ii. organizeinformationandideas effectively for the task
iii. listsourcesof informationin awaythat followsthe task instructions

Achievement level
Achievement level descriptor
Task specific clarifications
0
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below.

1–2
Thestudent:
ii. organizes information and ideas in a limited way
iii. inconsistently lists sources,not following the task
instructions
I kept my information and ideas organized in a limited way.

I inconsistently listed my sources in a proper format.
3–4
Thestudent:
ii. somewhat organizes information and ideas
iii. lists sources in a way that sometimes follows the task
instructions
I was able to somewhat keep my information and ideas organized.

I somewhat listed my sources in a proper format.
5–6
Thestudent:
ii. mostly organizes information and ideas
iii. lists sources in a way that often follows the task instructions.
I mostly kept my information and ideas organized.

I often listed my sources in a proper format.
7–8
Thestudent:
ii. completely organizes information and ideas effectively
iii. lists sources in a way that always follows the task instructions.
I was able to effectively keep all of my information and ideas completely organized.

I always listed all my sources in a proper format.




Year 2, Grade 7: 1st Quarter Unit

Unit Title: Identity and Community
Key Concept: Global Interactions
Related Concepts: Community, Identity
Global Context: Identities and relationships

Statement of Inquiry: Identity is internally and externally constructed and dependent on the community


Overview:
7th graders are spending the first quarter of Individuals&Societies and Language&Literature exploring the concept of identity and membership through different lenses. We will focus on identity here in America, examining questions such as; What does it to be an American? Who gets to participate in that group? What does it mean to be excluded from that group? What implications does that bring about? We will be reading Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, and will also utilize various mentor texts. Students will use their understanding of individual identity as a base for their understanding of membership on a larger scale.



MYP Year 2, Unit 1 GRASPS and Rubric

Goal: Everybody has a story. When we tell our own stories to others, we are in control of which details we choose to include, and which ones we choose to leave out. The telling of our stories by others takes away our control of how our stories are told. For this assessment, students will analyze whether or not an author can accurately portray somebody else’s story.

Role: You will take the role of both a reporter, and also the subject who is being interviewed. Students will be paired up and asked to interview their partner, about his or her experiences based on a set of different titles from the text, Home of the Brave. The interviewer will then write about their partner’s experiences from a first person point of view.

Audience: Your audience is a group of your peers as well as adults. You need to show the audience whether or not your story was portrayed accurately by your partner.
Situation: As a student news journalist, you have been asked to answer the question, “Is it possible to accurately portray someone else’s story as an outsider?” You will be assigned a subject to interview about their life experiences that have helped shape their identity, based on four titles from our text, Home of the Brave. The three titles that you can choose from to interview your subject about are (you are only picking one of these titles)

1. Family
2. Once There Was…
3. Home

You will write their story in first person, based on the information that you are able to uncover. You will each play the role of the reporter, as well as the author. After you have completed writing your collection, you and your partner will take turns analyzing your work, asking yourself if the writing that represents your story is accurate.

Product, Performance, and Purpose: Each student will turn in:

  1. The vignette that you have written about your partner.
  2. A written analysis of the vignette that your partner has completed about you.
  3. An interview transcript

Standards and Criteria for Success: Your investigation should answer the question “Is it possible to accurately portray somebody else’s story as an outsider?” Your analysis of this question should be detailed—referencing specific text evidence from the vignette that your partner has written about you.




IB Criteria
Student-Friendly Criteria
(IB 0)
(IB 1-2)
Below
(IB 3-4) Developing
(IB 5-6) Meeting
(IB 7-8) Exceeding
Criterion A: Knowing and Understanding
ii. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of subject-specific content and concepts, through descriptions, explanations and examples.
- Gives detailed information gathered in interview with developed and accurate descriptions and examples based on what information the student has gathered in the interview.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Demonstrates basic knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through limited descriptions and/or examples.
Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through simple descriptions, explanations and examples.
Demonstrates substantial knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through descriptions, explanations and examples.
Demonstrates detailed knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through developed and accurate descriptions, explanations and examples.
Criterion B: Investigating
iii. Use methods to collect and record relevant information
- Participates in interview process with family member.
- Asks appropriate and relevant questions in interview in order to find out information about the title that the student has chosen. Student asks a sufficient amount of interview questions to gather the needed information.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Collects and records limited or sometimes irrelevant information.
Uses a method(s) to collect and record some relevant information.
Uses methods to collect and record appropriate relevant information.
Uses methods to collect and record appropriate and varied relevant information.
Criterion C: Communicating
i. Communicate information and ideas in a way that is appropriate for the audience and purpose
- Writes information gathered from the interview in a clear and completely appropriate way for the audience and purpose.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Communicates information and ideas in a style that is not always clear.
Communicates information and ideas in a way that is somewhat clear.
Communicates information and ideas in a style that is mostly appropriate to the audience and purpose.
Communicates information and ideas in a style that is completely appropriate to the audience and purpose.
Criterion C: Communicating
ii. Structure information and ideas according to the task instructions
- Analysis is written in completely according to instructions given in GRASP.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Organizes information and ideas in a limited way.
Somewhat organizes information and ideas.
Mostly structures information and ideas according to the task instructions.
Structures information and ideas completely according to the task instructions.
Criterion D: Thinking Critically
iv. Recognize different perspectives and explain their implications.
- Clearly recognizes the different perspectives of the subjects by writing and explaining in the first person point of view.
- Consistently explains the story of who you interviewed.
-Each student consistently analyzes the vignette that has been written about him or herself.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Identifies different perspectives.
Recognizes different perspectives and suggests some of their implications.
Clearly recognizes different perspectives and describes most of their implications.
Clearly recognizes different perspectives and consistently explains their implications.






Year 3, Grade 8: 1st Quarter Unit

Unit Title: Identity and Community
Key Concept: Global Interactions
Related Concepts: Identity, Community
Global Context: Identities and Relationships

Statement of Inquiry: Membership in certain communities impact identity

Overview:
We have been analyzing aspects of Identity and discovering how our identities are shaped by the individuals/groups we interact with. We are using resources from Facing History to explore the concept of identity. We will be using a variety of short texts, film clips, and the novel, The Color of Water as we delve deeper into this concept. Students will ultimately write an expository essay on Identity.



This is Who We Are
IB Summative Assessment: Year 3 Individuals and Society
Statement of Inquiry: Individual membership in certain communities impacts one’s identity.
Goal: Your goal is to interview, research and record data about a parent and/or grandparent using well-written questions that reveals information that explains aspects of their identity and how their identity is intertwined with who you are.
Role: You will be the author of a parallel memoir (written in the style of the Color of Water) Your job is to collect data/stories and use those stories to reveal communities that you and your parent/grandparent belong.
Audience: Your audience will be your peers, teachers and family members. They will read your memoir and understand who you are and what you value.
Situation: Who you are often stems from the individuals who nurture you and your membership within communities. You must reveal identity through your writing and storytelling.
Product, Performance and Purpose: You will create a parallel memoir.You will need to research and/or interview a parent and /or grandparent and record the memories that reveal aspects of their identity. You must then synthesize your research/interview into a series of shorts, that reveal identity and what you each value. You should reflect on the importance of nurture in your life and see how family and membership in communities directly or indirectly affect your identity.
Standards and Criteria for Success:
In your memoir you must include information that reveals aspects of both identities. The stories should reveal when and where each person grew up, family structure, religion, education, fears, memberships, traditions and legacies that shaped each person. Your memoir must show how both nature and nurture shape identity.


IB Criteria
Student-Friendly Criteria
(IB 0)
(IB 1-2)
Below
(IB 3-4) Developing
(IB 5-6) Meeting
(IB 7-8) Exceeding
Criterion A: Knowing and Understanding
ii. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of subject-specific content and concepts, through descriptions, explanations and examples.
- Gives detailed information gathered in interview with developed and accurate descriptions and examples.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Demonstrates basic knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through limited descriptions and/or examples.
Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through simple descriptions, explanations and examples.
Demonstrates substantial knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through descriptions, explanations and examples.
Demonstrates detailed knowledge and understanding of content and concepts through developed and accurate descriptions, explanations and examples.
Criterion B: Investigating
iii. Use methods to collect and record relevant information
- Participates in interview process with family member.
- Asks appropriate and relevant questions in interview.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Collects and records limited or sometimes irrelevant information.
Uses a method(s) to collect and record some relevant information.
Uses methods to collect and record appropriate relevant information.
Uses methods to collect and record appropriate and varied relevant information.
Criterion C: Communicating
i. Communicate information and ideas in a way that is appropriate for the audience and purpose
- Writes information gathered from the interview in a clear and completely appropriate way for the audience and purpose.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Communicates information and ideas in a style that is not always clear.
Communicates information and ideas in a way that is somewhat clear.
Communicates information and ideas in a style that is mostly appropriate to the audience and purpose.
Communicates information and ideas in a style that is completely appropriate to the audience and purpose.
Criterion C: Communicating
ii. Structure information and ideas according to the task instructions
- Essay is written in parallel story format completely according to instructions given in GRASP.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Organizes information and ideas in a limited way.
Somewhat organizes information and ideas.
Mostly structures information and ideas according to the task instructions.
Structures information and ideas completely according to the task instructions.
Criterion D: Thinking Critically
iv. Recognize different perspectives and explain their implications.
- Clearly recognizes the different perspectives of the subjects by writing and explaining
- Consistently explains your story as well as the story of who you interviewed.
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors mentioned.
Identifies different perspectives.
Recognizes different perspectives and suggests some of their implications.
Clearly recognizes different perspectives and describes most of their implications.
Clearly recognizes different perspectives and consistently explains their implications.